Metal railway-tie



(No Model.) 7

-E.'N. HIGLEY.

METAL RAILWAY TIE.

No. 353,028. I Patented Nov. 23, 1886.

' UNITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

EBEN N. HIGLEY, OF SOMERSWORTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

METAL RAI LWAY-Tl E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,028, dated November 23, 1886, Application filed September 8, 1886. Serial No. 213,037. (No model.)

To wZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EBEN N. HIGLEY, residing at Somersworth, in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Metal Railway-Ties; and I hereby declare that'the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to-make and use the same.

Reference is hereby made to the accompa-. nying drawings as a part of this specification.

Figure 1' shows the tie described in my Let ters Patent No. 312,717, dated February 24,

r 5 1885.- Fig. 2 is an isometrical perspective view of my improved railway-tie. Fig. 3 is an end View of my improved railway'tie, and also shows a stay or brace I use in combination with it, Fig. 4is.a perspective view of the stay or brace. Fig. 5 shows a modification of my improved railway-tie. Fig. 6 shows another modification of my improved railwaytie.

Like letters designate like parts throughout 2 5 the several views.

My invention relates to metal railway-ties, and is especially designed as an improvement upon that described in patent numbered 312,717, issued to me February 24, 1885.

0 The object of my invention, stated. generally, is the production of a metal railway-tie, stronger, more economical, and more satisfactory in its workings than any heretofore made.

According to my said patent numbered 312,717, the tie (which is shown in Fig. 1) was made of two pieces of metal, ab, arranged side by,side, each piece being provided with anupward-turned flange; 0d, both flanges being connected by a series of rivets, e,"and the body of the tie being provided at its outer edges or sides and at either end with downward-projecting flanges f g.

My presentimprovement, for which I hereby apply for a patent, consists, mainly, in a tie (shown in Fig. 2) which is composed of a single sheet or piece of strong metal-preferably steelwith a single vertical flange, h, running longitudinally along its upper surface, and rolled or otherwise made as asolid and integral part of the body of the tie, (instead of two 7 sheets or pieces of metal side by side with two -ing flanges j, and also in a stay or brace, k,

placed edge downward on the under side of said tie between the downward-turned side flanges, j, to which theends of said brace 70 are fastened.

This tie being made in a single piece, is more economical than that described in the former patent, and possesses greater strength. It can be rolled into shape with proper machinery very readily, and requires only about half the time and labor to make that the other does. The time, labor, and expense are saved of punching rivet-holes in the flanges, placing the flanges together in position, and driving or fastening rivets or bolts. Such a tie is also manifestly a great deal stronger than one made in two pieces, being perfectly solid, with no rivets in the flange to give way or wear out under the shock and jar of passing trains. Thus time, labor, and money are saved and greater strength and better and longer service are secured by the use of this tie. The former tie, while a pronounced success for the purpose for which it is used, yet it is sometimes found in practice that a vibratory motion of the downward-turned flanges against the earth as the train passes causes a displacement'of the earth and a piling of it up between the ties, and this can be obviated by the use of the stay k, each end of which, I, is turned at a right angle and fastened by means of a bolt or rivet, m, to the inside of the flanges directly under the notches i 0 w r, or thereabout. This steadies the flanges and checks vibratory motion, thus avoiding the displacement of the earth, vbraces the tie and gives it additional strength. It

,can be used with any tie having downwardprojectingside flanges. The stay being placed edge downward, also engages with the earth, holds the tie in position, and prevents any endwise movement through the jarring of passing trains, or from other causes, and so would generally render unnecessary the use of downward-projecting flanges at the end of the tie.

Under some circumstances, where greater holding power is requiredto prevent endwise movement of the tie-as, for instance, on sharp curves-it may be desirable to make the im- 4 to admit the earth or ballast, and allow the same to be tamped or packed tightly under the tie, or the whole of each end may be turned into a downward flange, as in Fig. 5, '0.

A modified form of my improved tie is shown in Fig. 5. Here, instead of the Vertical longitudinal flange h on the tie, two pieces of the upper surface, 12, are struck up near each end of the tie by means of a die or otherwise, leaving a space, 0, between for the rail to rest in, and having sufficient strength to resist any lateral motion of the rails, and so prevent. them from spreading. The entire end is shown turned down into a flange, 1;; but only. half of the end may be turned down, if desired. I do not confine myself to either form.

Another modified form of my improved tie is shown in Fig. 6, where the body of the tie is rolled in one piece, but without the vertical longitudinal flange h, instead of which pieces of T or angle iron are bolted or riveted thereon near the ends, to form rail-holders. Of course either one piece of angle-iron, q, may be used at each end, with a notch, r, therein for the rails, or two pieces, s, may be used at each end, far enough apart to allow a space, w, for the rail between them. In this figure, (6,)

' half the endis shown turned down. The entire end may be so turned, if desired. I do not confine myself to either form.

The form in which I prefer the tie is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with a vertical notched flange running longitudinally thereon and rolled or otherwise made with and as an integral part of the body of the tie, the sides of the tie being turned into downward-projecting flanges, and the tie being madeejther with or without whole or half end flanges, according as may be required by the special service to which it may be put and the peculiarities of the roadbed whereon it may be used. The tie shown in Figs. 2 and 3 can be made by passing a. bloom or. thick piece of metal between successive rolls, and so thinning it-out, the upper rolls containing successively-deepening indentations to form the vertical flange in which therails rest, and the downward-turned flanges at the sides or ends can be turned in any convenient way while the metal is still hot.

As I have invented machinery to make the ties herein described, for which I propose to apply for a patent, I will reserve a description of what I consider to be the best method of manufacturing them till such patent is granted.

The notches in the upright flange are cut from top to bottom in a vertical line. I claim an advantage for that method over others wherein the cut in the upright flange is not vertical, but so formed that the upright flange holds the rail in one fixed position. The advantage of vertically-cut notches-such as are shown-is that they will allow of the rail being lifted up more or less above the surface of the tie by placing small plates or pieces beneath it, as isoften necessary in leveling up where the contiguous ties become raised by frost or other cause, as described in my Patent No. 334,229, of January 12, 1886, wherein reversible clamping-plates for the rail, designed for varying heights and to meet such a contingency, are shown.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1. A metal railway-tie formed with downwardlyextending side flanges to enter the earth, with upwardly-extending projections having a space between them, said projections forming vertical walls to each space far enough apart to allow the lower flange of a rail to lie between them,'and a stay or brace beneath said tie between said flanges, and fastened to said flanges to stiffen and strengthen them, the said stay or brace being placed edge downward and calculated to engage the earth and prevent an endwise movement of the tie, substantially as described and shown.

2. A metal railway-tie made in one piece,

having a single vertical flange running longitudinally upon it and forming an integral part thereof, with notches in said flange, each of said notches formed with vertical walls far enough apart to allow the lower flange of a rail to lie between them, the sides of said tie being turned into downwardly projecting flanges which engage the earth, and a stay or brace beneath said tie, between said flanges, and fastened to said flanges to stiffen and strengthen them, the said stay or brace being placed edge downward and calculated to engage the earth and prevent an endwise movement of the tie, substantially as described and shown.

EBEN N. HIGLEY. Witnesses:

R. W. THoMPsoN,

GEO. M. BARRY. 

